


Correcting the Past

by blacktithe



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 05:23:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20130049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blacktithe/pseuds/blacktithe
Summary: Everything changed after the snap. You were the only link to Bucky either of you had left. It was only natural that you would turn to one another in the end. Now everyone is back. How are things going to change for the two of you now that Bucky is back in the picture?





	Correcting the Past

**Author's Note:**

> This is my fourth story for the star-spangled-bingo on Tumblr. I’ve held off on working on it to give people a chance to see Endgame in an attempt not to spoil it for anyone. If you have not seen Endgame, what are you doing it’s out on digital now, do not read this fic. Hopefully all of you will still love me when this is over. It has gone through a lot of changes over the various drafts. 
> 
> Special thanks to Julie for betaing this fic.
> 
> I do not own Marvel or any of the characters found therein. No disrespect is meant to any of the creators. This is a work of fiction intended for entertainment purposes only.

Walking down the streets of New York did not hold the same appeal it once did. The papers that fluttered past and the dirt and grime were still there, but the city that never sleeps had been in a coma for the past five years. It had become a dark and desolate place that only true New Yorkers like yourself dared to walk.

You walked up the steps of the meeting hall and down the dimly lit corridor towards the room where a small collection of survivors were meet every month to talk about what was happening. You waited outside the door, hearing their stories float out towards you. You were learning to recognize the voices. You remembered the stories, but it was always Steve’s voice that stood out the most. 

“I met the love of my life in forty-five just before I went into the ice…”

You closed your eyes and bowed your head as you listened to his story. Hearing those words didn’t hurt nearly as much as you thought they should. You’d been in a relationship with Steve for nearly four years, but his words didn’t cut you like they would have most people. Then again, your relationship wasn’t like most. You went in knowing you weren’t the love of his life. Just like he knew he wasn’t yours.

That title belonged to one man, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, though most people knew him as The Winter Soldier. 

The two of you had escaped Hydra together. For years, you never left each other’s sides. You would have followed him into hell without a moment’s thought if he’d asked you too, but all of that was ripped away the moment Thanos had snapped his fingers. You’d only turned your back for an instant, but it was the instant that the center of your world turned to dust.

Steve had been the only one to understand what you were feeling. You’d lost your soulmate, and he had lost his best friend. Bucky had been the one thing that you knew you could always trust was real. No matter what, one look at his face or touch of his hand and all of the smoke and mirrors faded away. 

Steve understood that. You’d mourned Bucky’s loss together. At one point, a night of heavy drinking and shared memories turned into a night of passion, a desperate attempt for the two of you to feel something other than the grief that was threatened to consume you both.

You’re relationship changed after that. Little by little, genuine love and affection formed between you. You never doubted your love for Steve or his for you, but neither of you ever forgot about the loves you had lost before. You both still carried their photos. Steve had his compass with the black and white photo of Peggy; you had a locket Bucky had gifted you. It contained a photo of him and you together that Shuri had taken during your time in Wakanda. It was the only picture of the two of you together in existence.

“Hey.” You jumped and looked up to see Steve looking down at you with a frown. “You okay?”

You dropped your hand from where you had been fingering your locket and forced a soft smile onto your lips. “Yeah. How was your session?”

Steve took your hand in his as he lead you back towards his motorcycle. The two of you were going to visit Natasha at the old compound today. If only you had known just how much that simple visit would change the course of your lives forever.

**********

Smoke and debris whirled around you as you crawled out from under the rubble that had once been the Avengers compound. Your mission to go back in time and regain the Infinity Stones had been a success, but messing with time had consequences, and this time the consequences were named Thanos.

You forced yourself to your feet with a groan. Every muscle in your body ached. You could feel the slow trickle of blood working its way down the side of your face, but you didn’t care. Your eyes were too busy scanning the chaos for a familiar figure to worry about a simple cut.

Your heart nearly stopped when your eyes landed on him lying in the dust. Even from a distance, you could see how beaten and battered he was. His shield lay in pieces. Every move he made seemed to be marked by pain, but you could still see the fire burning in his eyes as he rose unsteadily to his feet. He tightened the straps holding the last shreds of his broken shield to his arm as he readied himself to face Thanos once more.

Your breath caught in your throat when you saw Thanos advancing towards him. You couldn’t do this. Not again. You were not going to stand idly by while Thanos took someone else you loved away from you. Not again.

You started running. Your muscles screamed at the effort, and your lungs burned; still, you ran. You had to reach him. You didn’t have a choice. Thanos didn’t know you were there yet. Maybe if you could get to him first you could… A sight behind Steve’s left shoulder made your feet grind to a halt.

Golden sparks appeared out of nowhere and grew into a large circle. Then another appeared. And another. Each one of them brought an army of people you’d thought long gone with them. Wanda. T’Challa. Shuri. Sam. With each person that stepped through a portal, you felt the hope inside of you well up once more. This would not be your last day on Earth. Not anymore.

That’s when you saw him. Bucky.

You never thought you would see him again. You had known that the point of the mission was to bring everyone back, but seeing him again had never been real to you until you saw him striding onto the battlefield.

Your body nearly collapsed under its own weight. It was like seeing a ghost. Your heart began beating rapidly inside of your chest. You wanted to cry out to him. To throw your arms around him. You wanted to hold him close and never let go. Everything you had dreamed about for the last five years was right there in front of you, but the battle raging around you wouldn’t allow for that.

“Avengers,” Steve called, bringing you back to yourself with a harrowing realization. Your eyes darted back and forth between the man you had been grieving and the man who had held you together. You loved them both, but there was no way you could have them. “Assemble.”

You forced your tumultuous thoughts aside. There would be time to worry about the future later. For now, you had to fight to save it.

***********

Saying goodbye to Tony Stark was not something any of you had been prepared for. Even so, you couldn’t help but notice Steve’s silence. He’d never been an overly talkative man, but there had been an undeniable distance between you since he returned with the last of the stones. There was almost a haunted look in his eyes, eyes that would barely meet yours.

You assumed it was due to the aftermath of Tony’s death. Steve had pulled you in against his chest when you’d started to cry. Neither of you had noticed anyone watching you until you’d begun to pull away.

Bucky was standing just a few yards away. His eyes moved back and forth between the two of you. After a moment, he clenched his jaw and gave the two of you a short nod of acceptance. There was no anger on his face. No condemnation. Just acceptance.

“Buck!” Steve called out to him as he turned to walk away.

“It’s okay,” said Bucky, turning to face you both. “It’s been a long time for you both. I’m just glad you’ve got somebody to watch your backs. God knows you both need it.” He let out a mirthless laugh before turning his attention solely to Steve. “Take care of her for me.”

The two of you had stood like statues as he walked away, and Steve had been distant ever since. 

Even when he lent you his arm at the funeral, he seemed to be a million miles away. Something was weighing heavily on his mind. You suspected it was the same thing that was weighing on yours now. What do we do?

Assuming that you would just figure everything out after the fact if the mission was successful had been foolhardy. The probability of everything turning out in your favor had been so low that you hadn’t even really let yourself hope. Now that it had, you had to find a way to deal with the fallout.

“Steve?” you called as you gently knocked on the door to the Stark’s spare bedroom.

Pushing the door open, your eyes landed on Steve on the far side of the room. He was as handsome as you had ever seen him in his red and white time suit, but it wasn’t his chiseled features or his kind blue eyes that drew your attention. It was the object in his hand. An old compass with a black and white photo tucked neatly into the lid.

You closed the door behind you, careful to keep the latch from making too much noise. Steve’s eyes slowly came up to meet yours as you crossed the room to stand in front of him. You glanced down at the compass still resting in his palm before returning your attention to his face.

“I saw her,” he said, looking back down at the compass. “When Tony and I went back, I…”

Realization dawned on you. It all made sense now. It wasn’t just Bucky that was weighing on him. It was Peggy.

You took in his suit and let everything the two of you had shared over the last four years was over you. The good. The bad. You told each other everything. That was why you knew the answer to your question before you even asked it.

“You’re not coming back are you?”

Steve’s eyes were almost glassy when they looked at you. You could see his inner turmoil playing itself out across his face. The muscles in his jaw flexed, and his clear blue eyes turned as dark as storm clouds.

“I don’t want you to think that you don’t mean anything to me,” he said, voice heavy with emotion. “I don’t know what I would have done these last few years without you. You’ve been what’s kept me going.”

You felt the corner of your mouth twitching like it was trying to smile. You felt the same.

“But things are different now,” he went on. “Bucky’s back. I saw the look on his face when he realized we were together, and I know you still love him.”

“Just like you still love her,” you finished softly.

He nodded and looked away. You watched a tear slid down his cheek and reached up to brush it away.

“I don’t know how else to do this,” he told you. “Every other option leaves someone I care about getting hurt, and I don’t want to do that to you or Buck. You’re too important”

You took a slow shuddering breath. Everything Steve was saying made sense. Both of you had gone into your relationship with your eyes wide open. You knew that your hearts ultimately belonged to someone else, but that didn’t mean that what you felt for each other was any less real or that having to say goodbye to him would hurt any less.

Steve took a hold of your shoulders and pulled you against his chest. He wrapped his arms around you to keep you close. The two of you stood there for what felt like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes. You let all of the memories the two of you shared wash over you as you held on to the man that had become your anchor for what you knew would be the last time.

**********

Watching Bruce prep Steve for his mission made your heart hurt. You watched him say goodbye to Sam before making his way to you. You could tell that he was trying to give you a reassuring smile. You hoped that the one you were giving him in return was as bright and as cheery as you were trying to appear, but the tears burning at the back of your eyes were making it nearly impossible to keep the facade.

Steve took you by the hand. “Take care of yourself.”

You nodded. “Always.”

He leaned forward. The brush of his lips against your cheek was enough to make a small tear roll down your face. Steve noticed and reached up to brush the tear away before anyone else could see it. You decided to walk a few paces away for good measure. Anyone watching would think that you were just worried about what could happen on his solo mission to return the stones. They would never suspect that you were hiding a slowly cracking heart.

Steve watched you for a moment more before walking up to Bucky. “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”

Bucky scoffed. “How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

There was a pause, a stillness like the first rays of dawn over the horizon. Bucky furrowed his brow a bit as the words they had just spoken sank in. He turned from Steve to look at you. His eyes searched your face. You don’t say anything, but Bucky had always been able to read you like a book. There was no doubt in your mind that he knew exactly what was happening. He blinked at you before turning back to Steve.

The two men share a silent conversation. You know they have reached some sort of mutual understanding when Steve nodded. 

“Take care of her for me?” Steve asked.

Bucky gave him a small nod before pulling his best friend into a warm hug. With a final pat on the back, Steve turned and made his way towards the platform.

Your heart gave a jolt as he moved. Part of you wanted to call out to him. To beg Steve to stay, but you stood your ground. This was the right decision. You knew it was.

Steve picked up Mjolnir with ease and gave you one last look before telling Bruce to fire up the machine. You watched in silence as Steve vanished into the past. A rush of air escaped your lungs. You closed your eyes and prepared yourself for the chaos you knew was coming.

“Is this because of me?”

You opened your eyes to see that Bucky had moved to stand beside you. You could hear Bruce and Sam arguing in the background, but you didn’t pay them much attention. Your eyes were too focused on the man in front of you to care about anything else.

“What?”

“Steve, did he do this because of me?”

You could see the hurt written on his face. “No,” you told him. “This has nothing to do with you.” He shook his head and looked down in disbelief. “He would have gone anyway. There’s someone there he needs to see.”

Bucky lifted his eyes to yours. You could practically hear the argument already forming on his tongue. That was until he noticed the trinket still hanging around your neck.

He reached out with his flesh hand to inspect it. “You still have this?” he asked.

His fingers grazed your skin, and it was like a new spark of life was born in you. For the first time it what seemed like forever, you felt whole.

“I never take it off.”

“Where is he?” you heard Sam say.

You turned to see Bruce frantically working at the controls in an effort to bring Steve back. You were just about to tell him not to bother when Bucky spoke up.

“Sam,” he said. He inclined his head ever so slightly, and your entire company turned to see an old man sitting by himself on a bench near the water. Even with his back to you, there was no denying who the figure was.

“Go ahead,” Bucky told Sam. The other soldier looked at you.

“Don’t you want to?”

You shook your head. “I don’t need to know.”

Sam walked off to speak to Steve. As you watched them talk, you hoped that Steve had enjoyed the life he’d led away from the constant battles he’d been fighting all his life. He deserved to be happy. He’d saved the world so many times. It was only fair that he got a chance to experience the kind of joy that only happens once in a lifetime

“Doll?” You turned your gaze back to Bucky. “Think you can catch me up on what’s happened the last five years? I’m feeling a little lost here.”

You smiled at him. “Sure.”

You held out a hand towards him, and Bucky took it without a moment’s hesitation. The feeling of his hand in yours was right. You may not have known exactly what the future was going to bring. But one thing was for certain. You weren’t going to do any more living in the past.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments and kudos.


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